


A Flute's Melody

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Series: Two Jedi Walk Into A Mandalorian [17]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mandalorian Culture (Star Wars), Mandalorian Obi-Wan Kenobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: There are days yet before they return to Coruscant, and while Din may not be very good at Basic, something he does understand is music.
Relationships: Boba Fett & CT-7567 | Rex, Boba Fett & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Din Djarin & CT-7567 | Rex, Din Djarin & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Two Jedi Walk Into A Mandalorian [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553227
Comments: 30
Kudos: 265





	A Flute's Melody

Mandalorian culture was, but its very nature, a semi-nomadic one. One's whole life was meant to fit on their person, and that meant much of who they were was meant to be mobile. To more grounded cultures, it seemed somewhat lacking - after all, what was one without their possessions? But the advent of space travel and personal ships meant that while a Mando would always carry what was most valuable on their person, they usually also had stashes of other things of value to them. In Obi-Wan's case, she had one trunk of items that marked out all her worldly possessions (and one small ship, permanently held in the Temple while she was employed). 

Boba had never been in his mother's trunk, but he knew she stored her best weapons and some casual clothing there. He'd seen her rifle through it, looking for things to give him. He'd seen her in it yesterday as well, fishing out spare leathers and cloth to dress Din, who's own clothes were filthy and who was too small for the clones to make an armour set similar to the one Boba owned. He would grow out of it too rapidly, and he was too small to fight - even by Mandalorian standards. He had assumed he knew all that was in it, his mother's trunk, but he was wrong. 

It's evening, on Din's second day aboard the _Endurance_.

He hadn't woken up once during the night, and when Boba and Obi-Wan had woken up an hour before reveille, they had found Din snuggled close to Rex's chest and Rex nearly wrapped around the boy. Obi-Wan had sent him out to the quartermaster to ask after spare fabric, enough to insulate the boy for space travel. Hestion hadn't had much to on hand, but had offered to make Din an undersuit out of a sundered pair of blacks. He'd relayed the news to Obi-Wan, finding her digging through scarves she had and her former cape, somewhat haggard at the bottom, but reusable. Boba, too, had some old clothes stashed away and the cadet uniform he'd stolen while- uh, before he'd come under her care. 

Once Din was awake, bathed and dressed - good thing he wasn't fussy about wearing a dress - they took him out and walked around, introducing him to brothers that passed by. Ones that had in Torrent Company with Ahsoka the day before were the most keen to see him. Din didn't shy away from them, but the attention was overwhelming, and they could tell that he was confused over why all the faces looked the same. 

"One, but lots." He said when Rex had asked why he was frowning. "You, but all them."

"We're brothers." Rex explained, hoisting the boy higher on his hip. He'd gotten dressed in the casual clothes Obi-Wan had given him at their wedding since it would be more comfortable for him to hold Din. 

He pointed down at Boba. "Make brothers?"

He shook his head. "Born brothers."

Din still seemed like he didn't get it, but he stopped trying to puzzle it out. He just laid his head down on Rex's shoulder and let the passing clones pet his hair and boop his nose without complaint. Rex carried him around for much of the rest of the day, Boba trailing behind them like a pet Lothcat. 

They didn't see Obi-Wan until after dinner, when she appeared in the hangar, where they had been talking to Oddball about maintenance on the ships. Din, who had managed to nap through an entire briefing in the afternoon, was getting sleepy again. Din spotted her first, though, reaching out a sleepy hand. "Ma."

"Hmm?" Rex adjusted Din. "What was that?"

"Ma." Din repeated, pointing. Behind them, atop the fuel pumps, was Obi-Wan, also dressed down in the clothes she normally wore under her armour. She was free of weapons and even her holsters, and was freshly making herself comfortable up there. 

"What are you doing?" Boba asked, skipping over and looking up at her. 

"I'm going to play. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure." He began to scale the pump, almost slipping but getting caught by the neck of his shirt. "Thanks." He sat down next to her. "What are you playing?"

"The bes'bev. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I think so?" 

She pulled a long but slender metal tube from her back, cut at a steep bevel at one end that looked razor sharp. It had many little holes, evenly spaced, and one at the top that was more oval. Around the oval was what looked like a reed-wood. "This belonged to my grandmother, and it was my grandfather's wedding gift to her. My grandmother loved listening to them, but had never had much success playing it herself. It saw the most use from my grandfather, and he was the one who taught me how to play as a child."

"It's an instrument?"

"And a weapon, if necessary, but primarily, yes." She brought the reed oval up to her lips, the shaft of the bes'bev held up to her right. It took her a moment to find the most correct positioning, loosening her shoulders some and taking a deep breath before she gently blew over the hole and a warm, brassy note rang from it, one that echoed through the whole of the hangar, bouncing off the durasteel. 

She tested a few more notes, then set her fingers to work, playing a simple, but soothing melody. Din seemed to recognize the tune, because he began to quietly sing along. Obi-Wan didn't miss Din's song, either, and adjusted her tune to one of the better-known Mid-Rim lullabies. Din sang along to that one too, even swaying back and forth in Rex's arms. The lullaby itself was light and airy, and Boba knew that the words in Basic were about floating off on breezes into dreamland. Some of the clones, too, seemed to know the words, setting down what they were doing and wandering over. 

She faded out the last note, pulling back for a second to readjust, before she started up again. The melody that followed wasn't one that he knew, nor one the clones had picked up either. The notes were deeper, the feeling stronger, the tone more melancholic. She closed her eyes as she sunk into the song, swaying gently back and forth where she sat. It was like a trance that overtook them, some instinctual part that could feel the loss and depth ringing through the air in their very souls. Even Rex and Din were saying together, and Boba found he couldn't help himself, lowering his head and feeling like his father was right there at his side, warm beskar against his cheek. It was nostalgic, the kind of pain you cling to so you never forget why the loss hurt so much. 

When she pulled away from the mouthpiece this time, her breath stuttered in her chest, and when he glanced up at her, her pretty copper lashes were beaded with unshed tears. Without thinking about it, Boba reached up and wiped them away. Obi-Wan smiled at him, but she had to take a few deep breaths before she regained her composure. It hit Boba then that this experience - the lonesome, bittersweet melody of the bes'bev - was one from deep in her childhood, before she lost everyone. It was likely she had never played before people since the last of her family died, and the terrible thought that this was the only thing that bound her former family and her new one together _hurt_. Her loved ones would never meet, and even if she never said what the circumstances of their deaths were, Boba knew it didn't have to be that way. He could have had grandparents, could have had aunts and uncles - a world beyond the _Endurance_ and the barracks on Coruscant, beyond the war effort and the death. There _could have been_ , and that loss of potential ached just as deeply as the loss itself. 

She didn't shake or stutter when she started up again, another equally wistful song taking to the air, but no one made mention of the tears rolling down her cheeks. 

From the back end of the hold, Anakin and Ahsoka walked out of the elevator, approaching the scene as one might approach picking up a glass vase ready to shatter at any moment. The two Jedi picked up on the air keenly. Both of them hopped up onto a crate full of spare parts, sitting down cross legged and closing their eyes. Meditation, Boba clued in. 

| | | 

In the end, none of them were able to tell exactly how long they'd been standing there, just listening and watching Obi-Wan play. But when she finally ran out of songs she knew, they were all strangely exhausted and deeply satisfied. The two Jedi got up and left without a sound, and the brothers dispersed slowly. 

Din was fast asleep on Rex's shoulder, his little mouth parted to puff gently as he breathed. Boba wanted to stroke his hair, but he wasn't tell enough to do that without Rex bending down. 

"Can Din sleep with me tonight?" He asked instead, tugging on Obi-Wan's belt. 

Rex's laugh was warm and soft. "Don't want to sleep between us tonight?"

"No, that's not it. I just-" He couldn't help but pout. "I haven't gotten a chance to hold Din yet."

Obi-Wan pulled her into her side, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. "Okay. You can hold him when we sleep. We should head back and get cleaned up for bed anyway." She looked at Rex. "Do you want me to take him? Your arm must be falling off from how long you've been holding him."

"Nah, I'm fine. He's sound asleep anyway - wouldn't want to wake him for no reason." Rex smiled. "He's lighter than he looks too, to be honest."

"Hmm." She carefully kissed Rex on the cheek. "We'll have to get Kix to check him over - see what weight he should be at for an Aq Vetina humanoid."

"You don't think he's entirely human?"

"Aq Vetina was a colony world - the native humans bred with the colonizers and some mutations appeared. He may lean more one way or the other, and our care of him will have to reflect that. It won't be major, I'm certain."

"Let's get settled, then. Sounds like we have an early day tomorrow."

The walk back to the room was a quiet, comfortable one. Boba even reached out and took Obi-Wan's hand, swinging it a little as they walked. She made no mention of it, other than a small smile and a gentle squeeze of her fingers. 

All of their mattresses and pillows were still on the floor from the night before, and Rex was very careful as he knelt down, laying Din down with Obi-Wan's help. Boba went and brushed his teeth first, changing into his nightwear and coming back to settle in behind Din, taking the time to play with the younger boy's soft brown hair and stroking the lines of his face. 

Rex went to clean up next, with Obi-Wan standing over them wearing the softest expression he'd ever seen. 

"Do you like having a family again, _buir_?" He asked.

"I had always wondered what possessed my mother to give up her _beskar'gam_ and live a peasant's life." Her smile was watery. "I understand now."

"Will you tell us one day, about your family?"

"When I take you back there, I will." She promised. "When I can tell you everything, when I give you _beskar'gam_ to make your own, I will."

He could tell by the weight in her voice that meant he would be waiting a long time, but he couldn't bring himself to mind. She had said they were both survivors when they spoke on Slave-1, and he knew from experience that didn't mean anything good. Deep wounds always fester the longest, even when the skin has closed. 

When Rex came back out, dressed down into only the bottom of his blacks, Obi-Wan slipped away. Rex laid himself down, leaving enough room for her to crawl in. Their _buir_ reached over, petting them. "Sleep, little ones."

Boba hugged Din closer, and Din's sleepy response was to roll over, planting his head on Boba's chest and making adorable grumpy little noises before settling. Boba held onto him tighter, honoured that Din would trust him so much, so quickly. Rex pulled the blankets up over them, watching them intently. 

Obi-Wan slid into the bed not too long after, letting Rex curl up against her back and kiss the nape of her neck. 

" _Buir_?" Boba murmured into the darkness. 

"Yes?" Both his parents answered at once, making them both chuckle. 

"O'buir?" Boba corrected. 

"Yes, _ad'ika_?"

"Will you teach us to play the _bes'bev_ too?"

"If you want to learn, I'll gladly do so. Anything I can teach you, I will."

"Okay." 

* * *

Boba woke up in the early hours of the morning to find Din staring up at him from where he was planted on his chest, pretty big brown eyes shining. 

"What's up, Din?" He yawned, reaching down to pet that soft hair. 

"Shh." Din pointed to Rex and Obi-Wan, who were snuggled close and deeply asleep. 

He glanced over at the chronometer. "Why are you even awake?"

Din shrugged. 

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

Din cocked his head, then shook it. "No."

"What do you want to do?"

"Don't know." Din reached out and looped his fingers through one of Boba's curls. "How do?"

"It just does that."

Din frowned, trying to puzzle it out. "No do?"

He giggled. "No do."

"Oh." Din stuck his tongue out. "Why me not do?"

"I don't know, _vod_." Boba pointed over at their parents. "Our hair isn't blonde or red either."

Din frowned again. "But them not woo-ooh." Din toyed with one of Boba's curls again. "Only you woo-ooh."

"Eh, if Re'buir's hair was longer, it would curl too."

Din settled back down on his chest, watched him again for a few long minutes, then reached up and bopped him on the nose. "Boop." On reflex, he recoiled, but that only made Din giggle, doing it again. "Boop!"

"Din, c'mon." Boba groaned. "We still have four hours till reveille. Can we go back to sleep?"

"Boop!"

Obi-Wan's hand found Din's hair, and the boy froze like he'd been caught stealing rations. "Sleep, little one."

Din flopped down on Boba's chest immediately. 

Rex's rough, sleep-laden chuckle almost made Boba jump. "Did you just use a Force mind-trick on our son?"

"There's only so much longer I'll be able to do it." She murmured back, slinging her arm over his waist. "May as well make the best use of it."

Rex chuckled incredulously again, but Obi-Wan didn't seem to mind. 

"Get some more sleep Boba. You're right - reveille isn't for another four hours."

* * *

Having slept so long the night before, Din was an absolute hyperactive terror the whole of the next day. The only mercy was that all the brothers adored having the little boy amongst them, random clones hiking him up on their shoulders, chasing him around the hangar or showing him how the fighters and bombers worked. Ahsoka and Anakin joined in at one point too, making Din float and fly around the main hangar, very much to Din's delight. 

"At least it's not just me they do it to." Rex grumbled. 


End file.
